Senate Majority Chief John Thune (R-S.D.) says he expects former Senate GOP Chief Mitch McConnell (Ky.) to vote with Senate Republicans on the “big stuff ahead of us,” after McConnell voted towards three of President Trump’s most controversial Cupboard nominees.
“He’s got views on some of these nominees that maybe don’t track exactly with where I or other Republicans have come down, but we respect his positions on these, some of these noms, and I know that on a lot of big stuff ahead of us, he’s going to be with us. He’s a team player,” Thune advised Fox Information Digital.
Thune made his feedback after McConnell voted towards Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s selection to go the Division of Well being and Human Providers.
McConnell, who survived polio as a younger boy, mentioned he voted towards Kennedy due to Kennedy’s skepticism of “proven cures,” such because the polio vaccine.
“In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” McConnell mentioned in an announcement after voting towards Kennedy.
McConnell additionally voted towards Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump nominated to steer the Pentagon and the nation’s 18 intelligence companies, respectively. All three have been confirmed by majority Republican votes.
McConnell, who served a document 18 years as Senate Republican chief, additionally took a shot not too long ago at Trump’s plan to impose steep tariffs on buying and selling companions.
“It will drive the cost of everything up. In other words, it will be paid for by American consumers. I mean, why would you want to get into a fight with your allies over this?” McConnell advised CBS Information’s “60 Minutes” in a current interview.
The senior Kentucky lawmaker wrote in a current op-ed for The Courier Journal that Trump’s “aggressive” tariff threats “leave big, lingering concerns for American industry and workers.”
Thune advised Fox that McConnell stays influential within the Senate GOP convention, particularly on nationwide security-related points.
“So when it comes to those issues, he has outsized influence and a voice that we all pay attention to,” he mentioned.
